Intel Core i9-7980XE vs Intel Core i7-5960X

Last updated: 2023-09-12

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i9-7980XE		Intel Core i7-5960X
CPU comparison Intel Core i9-7980XE or Intel Core i7-5960X - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results. The Intel Core i9-7980XE has 18 cores with 36 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.20 GHz. Up to 128 GB of memory is supported in 4 memory channels. The Intel Core i9-7980XE was released in Q4/2017. The Intel Core i7-5960X has 8 cores with 16 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.50 GHz. The CPU supports up to 64 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-5960X was released in Q3/2014.

Intel Core i9 (78)	Family	Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition (24)
Intel Core i 7000X (9)	CPU group	Intel Core i 5000X (3)
7	Generation	5
Skylake X	Architecture	Haswell E
Desktop / Server	Segment	Desktop / Server
--	Predecessor	Intel Core i7-4960X
Intel Core i9-9980XE	Successor	--

CPU Cores and Base Frequency The Intel Core i9-7980XE is a 18 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.60 GHz (4.20 GHz). The Intel Core i7-5960X has 8 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 3.00 GHz (3.50 GHz).
Intel Core i9-7980XE	Characteristic	Intel Core i7-5960X
18	Cores	8
36	Threads	16
normal	Core architecture	normal
Yes	Hyperthreading	Yes
Yes	Overclocking ?	Yes
2.60 GHz	Frequency	3.00 GHz
4.20 GHz	Turbo Frequency (1 Core)	3.50 GHz
3.50 GHz	Turbo Frequency (All Cores)	3.20 GHz

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.
Intel Core i9-7980XE	Characteristic	Intel Core i7-5960X
--	AI hardware	--
--	AI specifications	--

Internal Graphics The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.
no iGPU	GPU	no iGPU
	GPU frequency	--
--	GPU (Turbo)	--
--	GPU Generation	--
	Technology
	Max. displays
--	Compute units	--
--	Shader	--
No	Hardware Raytracing	No
No	Frame Generation	No
--	Max. GPU Memory	--
--	DirectX Version	--

Hardware codec support A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.
no iGPU	GPU	no iGPU
No	Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit)	No
No	Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit)	No
No	Codec h264	No
No	Codec VP9	No
No	Codec VP8	No
No	Codec AV1	No
No	Codec AVC	No
No	Codec VC-1	No
No	Codec JPEG	No

Memory & PCIe The Intel Core i9-7980XE supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-5960X can connect up to 64 GB of memory in 4 memory channels.
Intel Core i9-7980XE	Characteristic	Intel Core i7-5960X
DDR4-2666	Memory	DDR4-2133
128 GB	Max. Memory	64 GB
4 (Quad Channel)	Memory channels	4 (Quad Channel)
85.4 GB/s	Max. Bandwidth	68.2 GB/s
No	ECC	No
--	L2 Cache	--
25.00 MB	L3 Cache	20.00 MB
3.0	PCIe version	3.0
44	PCIe lanes	40
43.3 GB/s	PCIe Bandwidth	39.4 GB/s
Thermal Management The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Intel Core i9-7980XE has a TDP of 165 W, that of the Intel Core i7-5960X is 140 W.
Intel Core i9-7980XE	Characteristic	Intel Core i7-5960X
165 W	TDP (PL1 / PBP)	140 W
--	TDP (PL2)	--
--	TDP up	--
--	TDP down	--
--	Tjunction max.	--
Technical details The Intel Core i9-7980XE has a 25.00 MB cache, while the Intel Core i7-5960X cache has a total of 20.00 MB.
Intel Core i9-7980XE	Characteristic	Intel Core i7-5960X
14 nm	Technology	22 nm
Monolithic	Chip design	Monolithic
x86-64 (64 bit)	Instruction set (ISA)	x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512	ISA extensions	SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2
LGA 2066	Socket	LGA 2011-3
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d	Virtualization	VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes	AES-NI	Yes
Windows 10, Linux	Operating systems	Windows 10, Linux
Q4/2017	Release date	Q3/2014
1999 $	Release price	829 $

show more data		show more data

Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 2.60 GHz (4.20 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save! Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.00 GHz (3.50 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save!

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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks

Intel Core i9-7980XE (100%)

Intel Core i7-5960X (89%)

⌀ Multi core performance in 6 CPU benchmarks

Intel Core i9-7980XE (88%)

Intel Core i7-5960X (55%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 4.20 GHz	1121 (100%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz	1002 (89%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 3.50 GHz	16495 (100%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz	7843 (48%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 4.20 GHz	1394 (100%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz	1154 (83%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 3.50 GHz	11708 (100%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz	7640 (65%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 3.50 GHz	30321 (100%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz	12709 (42%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 3.50 GHz	77 (30%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz	254.1 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 2.60 GHz	10563 (100%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.00 GHz	3944 (37%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 4.20 GHz	184 (100%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz	177 (96%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 3.50 GHz	3455 (100%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz	1360 (39%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 4.20 GHz	0 (0%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz	55 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 4.20 GHz	0 (0%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz	498 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 4.20 GHz	1281 (100%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz	0 (0%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 3.50 GHz	28196 (100%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz	0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 4.20 GHz	446 (100%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz	0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.


	Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C 36T @ 3.50 GHz	7671 (100%)
	Intel Core i7-5960X 8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz	0 (0%)

Devices using this processor
Intel Core i9-7980XE	Intel Core i7-5960X
Unknown	Unknown

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